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Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk reveals that he lost six teeth because of the hit Netflix show’s stressful production process.
Squid Game‘s production took a physical toll on creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, who lost six teeth due to stress.
Speaking to The Guardian, Hwang stated, “It was physically, mentally and emotionally draining… I kept having new ideas and revising the episodes as we were filming so the amount of work multiplied.” During the same interview, the director and writer also described how wearing multiple hats added to the workload, to the point where it cost him six teeth to get the show on the air.
But his journey with Squid Game started from a place of hardship even before the grueling production process. He was inspired by his family’s situation after the 2008 financial crisis hit South Korea. “I was very financially straitened because my mother retired from the company she was working for,” he recalled. He went on say, “We had to take out loans – my mother, myself and my grandmother.” This is what gave him the idea of debt-ridden contestants participating in a series of deadly games for financial compensation. His inspiration also stemmed from his love of comic books. “I read Battle Royal and Liar Game and other survival game comics,” he said. ” I related to the people in them, who were desperate for money and success.”
Hwang’s hard work gave Netflix its most popular show yet. Squid Game overtook Bridgerton as the platform’s most successful show ever, reaching an estimated 142 million households and boosting subscriber figures by 4.4 million. Despite the painful production process and the enormous success of the show, which reached a worth of $900 million on a budget of just $21 million, Hwang has not been paid a bonus. “Netflix paid me according to the original contract.”
As for a potential second season, no official announcement has been made, but Hwang revealed that he is “considering it.” He said, “Of course there is talk… That’s inevitable because it’s been such a success.” Hwang has been an active filmmaker for more than a decade, and he expressed that he doesn’t want his career to be exclusively tied to Squid Game.
He is currently lobbying Netflix to screen three of his past pictures, and he already has a new movie in mind. He explained, “I’m thinking about which to do first. I’m going to talk to Netflix.”
Source: The Guardian
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